Welcome back to Austen Promises!

Here’s a link to last week’s post, in case you missed it. 🙂

Today’s brilliant idea for a post was inspired by the following excerpt from my newest novel, Darcy’s Uneasy Betrothal:

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“How is Miss Darcy?” Elizabeth smiled at her betrothed, settling herself deeper into the sofa on which they sat. “I hope her injuries were not severe.”

Darcy shook his head, following Elizabeth’s lead in arranging himself for greater comfort and ease of conversation. “My sister is well. She dislocated her shoulder when her horse shied and threw her. She retained her grip on the reins instead of letting them go. She is more embarrassed than injured, I suspect.”

“My father did that once, several years ago. He hated to wear the sling, but the apothecary insisted.” Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled at the memory.

Darcy laughed. “Georgiana resisted, as well, until her maid came up with a piece of cloth that matched her gown. She seems to be of an age where how she looks is far more important than how she feels.”

Elizabeth laughed. “I fear all females reach that point at some time or other.”

“Indeed.” Darcy grinned. “And, yourself? How are you feeling?”

“Much better.” Elizabeth sipped her tea. “I am still prone to headaches, but time has allowed more memories back into my mind.”

“Excellent!” Darcy winked. “No more lists cluttering up your reticule?”

“Well, I did not say that.” Elizabeth giggled. “However, I have whittled the number of lists down considerably.” She sobered. “I still do not recall what happened ‘that’ day, nor have I been allowed out to walk alone. I had thought perhaps seeing the area might help me remember.” She shrugged. “With the recurring headaches, it is not wise for me to walk that far.”

“I am sorry. I know how frustrating restrictions can be.” Darcy paused and, seeing Elizabeth did not appear distraught, changed the subject. “I took the notes your father and I made about your settlement to my attorney in town. I will have to return when it is complete and bring it here for Mr. Bennet to sign.”

Elizabeth sighed, a small smile lifting her lips. “That is good news.” She was quiet for a heartbeat. “It makes it all seem so much more real, does it not?”

“It does.” Darcy examined Elizabeth’s features. “I brought a gift for you that will undoubtedly do the same. When we have finished our tea, I will give it to you. If you feel able, perhaps we could walk in the garden and I could present it to you there.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “A gift?” She shook her head. “I need no gifts, sir.” She spoke softly, a blush rising from her neckline.

“I know. I wish to give it to you. As my wife, you should expect many gifts. It is my duty to make you happy. I recall my father bringing them to my mother every time he came home from travelling without her.” Darcy’s voice softened, a tender note infusing it that brought Elizabeth’s eyes up to search his.

“Then, I thank you. I still insist I do not require gifts to make me happy, but I can see it is important to you.” Suddenly, Elizabeth smirked. “I shall remind myself of your generosity when the times come, as they no doubt will, that you test my patience.”

Darcy chuckled. “I am quite certain my mother did the same.”

~~~***~~~

In this story, Darcy gets called to London because his sister was in an accident and dislocated her shoulder. At age 14 or 15 (the story takes place the year before Ramsgate), she’s at the age where she wants to look nice and fashionable. I remember those years well. LOL

Georgiana doesn’t want to wear a sling at first, until someone makes one that matches her outfit. I’ve never dislocated my shoulder, but I have had to wear a sling. I was a teenager and don’t remember what injury I sustained, but my sling was white canvas (like what a tote bag would be made out of now) with blue straps. I might even have it here somewhere, though I don’t know where it would be. In one of the boxes in the guest room, I’d imagine. LOL

I thought it would be cool to look up purple slings. If I were required to use one now, I’d be buying myself a purple one. So, I started with a Google search using the term “purple sling.” I ended up with a page of I don’t know what. Something car-related, I think. Anyway, I refined my search, adding the word “arm” to my term. This page is what came back.

There were lots of choices here, which excited me, because it makes writing a post easier. LOL

First, I wanted to go to Etsy, where this page had both actual slings, and some other stuff. Most of the slings seemed to be for kids, not really a surprise given that most people seem to think purple is a kids’ color. I like the Mardi Gras sling a lot. It was very colorful. But, as a crocheter, this sling caught my eye. It’s not the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and it’s probably too hot for summertime wear, but it’s durable and washable. Of course, since I am a crocheter, my thought was, “I could make one of those. I’m not paying for one!” LOL

The next site I visited seems to be dedicated to slings and other things to cover up casts. The name of it is CASTCoverz! The search results page shows more slings than just purple ones, but they have some really cute purple slings! It was hard to choose a favorite, because all the purple ones are so pretty, but in the end, I went with one of the ones that has a cell phone pocket. This solid purple one is what I would pick, because I learned long ago to stick to solids as much as possible. LOL

The next site I looked at is called Purple Surgical. There is only one option here. I don’t know about this one, to be honest. It’s really bulky, and I would think the weight of the cast and sling hanging off the neck that way would cause neck strain.

There were other links in the search results, but these were the ones at the top of the page. The Amazon hit did not have a purple sling, but a rainbow one, and when I searched, I came up with all manner of things better left unspoken of in polite company. <insert shocked look>

So, if you were forced to wear a sling, which would you choose?

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